THE MENDICANT'S VISION IN THE WILDERNESS

CHAPTER ONE

OF THE STAGES IN THE ASCENT TO GOD AND OF HIS REFLECTION IN HIS TRACES IN
THE UNIVERSE22have translated the Latin "speculatio," which appears over and over
again in this work, in a variety of ways. St. Bonaventura plays upon its
various shades of meaning--reflection, speculation, consideration--for he
seems haunted by the basic metaphor of the universe's being a sort of
mirror (speculum) in which God is to be seen. The Italian and French
translators have the advantage of those of us who write English, for they
have merely to transliterate the Latin word. We have a similar difficulty
in the Latin word "vestigia," which I have translated traces. It will
hardly do to write vestiges or footprints, and traces is not much better.
St. Bonaventura simply means that by considering the work of art one will
know the artist. This handiwork shows traces of his workmanship. But we are
likely to think of traces as something which are left behind, whereas God
is not to be thought of as having created the world and then left it alone,
as Pascal said of Descartes' God.

1. Blessed is the man whose help is from Thee. In his heart he hath
disposed to ascend by steps, in the vale of tears, in the place which he
hath set [Ps. 83:6]. Since beatitude is nothing else than the fruition of
the highest good, and the highest good is above us, none can be made
blessed unless he ascend above himself, not by the ascent of his body but
by that of his heart. But we cannot be raised above ourselves except by a
higher power raising us up. For howsoever the interior steps are disposed,
nothing is accomplished unless it is accompanied by divine aid. Divine
help, however, comes to those who seek it from their hearts humbly and
devoutly; and this means to sigh for it in this vale of tears, aided only
by fervent prayer. Thus prayer is the mother and source of ascent ("sursum-
actionis") in God. Therefore Dionysius, in his book, "Mystical Theology"
[ch. 1, 13, wishing to instruct us in mental elevation, prefaces his work
by prayer. Therefore let us pray and say to the Lord our God, "Conduct me,
O Lord, in Thy way, and I will walk in Thy truth; let my heart rejoice that
it may fear Thy name" [Ps. 85:11].

2. By praying thus one is enlightened about the knowledge of the stages in
the ascension to God. For since, relative to our life on earth, the world
is itself a ladder for ascending to God, we find here certain traces [of
His hand], certain images, some corporeal, some spiritual, some temporal,
some aeviternal; consequently some outside us, some inside. That we may
arrive at an understanding of the First Principle, which is most spiritual
and eternal and above us, we ought to proceed through the traces which are
corporeal and temporal and outside us, and this is to be led into the way
of God. We ought next to enter into our minds, which are the eternal image
of God, spiritual and internal; and this is to walk in the truth of God. We
ought finally to pass over into that which is eternal, most spiritual, and
above us, looking to the First Principle; and this is to rejoice in the
knowledge of God and in the reverence of His majesty.

3. Now this is the three days' journey into the wilderness [Ex. 3:18];
this is the triple illumination of one day, first as the evening, second as
the morning, third as noon; this signifies the threefold existence of
things, as in matter, in [creative] intelligence, and in eternal art,
wherefore it is said, "Be it made, He made it," and "it was so done" [Gen.
1]; and this also means the triple substance in Christ, Who is our ladder,
namely, the corporeal, the spiritual, and the divine.

4. Following this threefold progress, our mind has three principal aspects.
One refers to the external body, wherefore it is called animality or
sensuality; the second looks inward and into itself, wherefore it is called
spirit; the third looks above itself, wherefore it is called mind. From all
of which considerations it ought to be so disposed for ascending as a whole
into God that it may love Him with all its mind, with all its heart, and
with all its soul [Mark 12:30]. And in this consists both the perfect
observance of the Law and Christian wisdom.

5. Since, however, all of the aforesaid modes are twofold--as when we
consider God as the alpha and omega, or in so far as we happen to see God
in one of the aforesaid modes as "through" a mirror and "in" a mirror, or
as one of those considerations can be mixed with the other conjoined to it
or may be considered alone in its purity--hence it is necessary that these
three principal stages become sixfold, so that as God made the world in six
days and rested on the seventh, so the microcosm by six successive stages
of illumination is led in the most orderly fashion to the repose of
contemplation. As a symbol of this we have the six steps to the throne of
Solomon [III Kings 10:19]; the Seraphim whom Isaiah saw have six wings;
after six days the Lord called Moses out of the midst of the cloud [Ex. 21:16]; and Christ after six days, as is said in Matthew [Matthew 17:1], brought
His disciples up into a mountain and was transfigured before them.

6. Therefore, according to the six stages of ascension into God, there are
six stages of the soul's powers by which we mount from the depths to the
heights, from the external to the internal, from the temporal to the
eternal--to wit, sense, imagination, reason, intellect, intelligence, and
the apex of the mind, the illumination of conscience ("Synteresis"). These
stages are implanted in us by nature, deformed by sin, reformed by grace,
to be purged by justice, exercised by knowledge, perfected by wisdom.

7. Now at the Creation, man was made fit for the repose of contemplation,
and therefore God placed him in a paradise of delight [Gen. 2:16]. But
turning himself away from the true light to mutable goods, he was bent over
by his own sin, and the whole human race by original sin, which doubly
infected human nature, ignorance infecting man's mind and concupiscence his
flesh. Hence man, blinded and bent, sits in the shadows and does not see
the light of heaven unless grace with justice succor him from
concupiscence, and knowledge with wisdom against ignorance. All of which is
done through Jesus Christ, Who of God is made unto us wisdom and justice
and sanctification and redemption [I Cor. 1:30]. He is the virtue and
wisdom of God, the Word incarnate, the author of grace and truth--that is,
He has infused the grace of charity, which, since it is from a pure heart
and good conscience and unfeigned faith, rectifies the whole soul in the
threefold way mentioned above. He has taught the knowledge of the truth
according to the triple mode of theology--that is, the symbolic, the
literal, and the mystical--so that by the symbolic we may make proper use
of sensible things, by the literal we may properly use the intelligible,
and by the mystical we may be carried aloft to supermental levels.

8. Therefore he who wishes to ascend to God must, avoiding sin, which
deforms nature, exercise the above-mentioned natural powers for
regenerating grace, and do this through prayer. He must strive toward
purifying justice, and this in intercourse; toward the illumination of
knowledge, and this in meditation; toward the perfection of wisdom, and
this in contemplation. Now just as no one comes to wisdom save through
grace, justice, and knowledge, so none comes to contemplation save through
penetrating meditation, holy conversation, and devout prayer. Just as grace
is the foundation of the will's rectitude and of the enlightenment of clear
and penetrating reason, so, first, we must pray; secondly, we must live
holily; thirdly, we must strive toward the reflection of truth and, by our
striving, mount step by step until we come to the high mountain where we
shall see the God of gods in Sion [Ps. 83:8]

9. Since, then, we must mount Jacob's ladder before descending it, let us
place the first rung of the ascension in the depths, putting the whole
sensible world before us as a mirror, by which ladder we shall mount up to
God, the Supreme Creator, that we may be true Hebrews crossing from Egypt
to the land promised to our fathers; let us be Christians crossing with
Christ from this world over to the Father [John 13:1]; let us also be
lovers of wisdom, which calls to us and says, "Come over to me, all ye that
desire me, and be filled with my fruits" [Ecclesiasticus 24:26]. For by
the greatness of the beauty and of the creature, the Creator of them may be
seen [Wisdom 13:5].

10. There shine forth, however, the Creator's supreme power and wisdom and
benevolence in created things, as the carnal sense reports trebly to the
inner sense. For the carnal sense serves him who either understands
rationally or believes faithfully or contemplates intellectually.
Contemplating, it considers the actual existence of things; believing, it
considers the habitual course of things; reasoning, it considers the
potential excellence of things.

11. In the first mode, the aspect of one contemplating, considering things
in themselves, sees in them weight, number, and measure [Wisdom 11:21]--
weight, which directs things to a certain location;33Reading "pondus quo ad situm," instead of "quoad." number, by which they
are distinguished from one another; and measure, by which they are limited.
And so one sees in them mode, species, and order; and also substance,
power, and operation. From these one can rise as from the traces to
understanding the power, wisdom, and immense goodness of the Creator.

12. In the second mode, the aspect of a believer considering this world,
one reaches its origin, course, and terminus. For by faith we believe that
the ages are fashioned by the Word of Life [Hebr. 11:3]; by faith we
believe that the ages of the three laws--that is, the ages of the law of
Nature, of Scripture, and of Grace--succeed each other and occur in most
orderly fashion; by faith we believe that the world will be ended at the
last judgment--taking heed of the power in the first, of the providence in
the second, of the justice of the most high principle in the third.

13. In the third mode, the aspect of one inquiring rationally, one sees
that some things merely are; others, however, are and live; others,
finally, are, live, and discern. And the first are lesser things, the
second midway, and the third the best. Again, one sees that some are only
corporeal, others partly corporeal and partly spiritual, from which it
follows that some are entirely spiritual and are better and more worthy
than either of the others. One sees, nonetheless, that some are mutable and
corruptible, as earthly things; others mutable and incorruptible, as
celestial things, from which it follows that some are immutable and
incorruptible, as the supercelestial things.

From these visible things, therefore, one mounts to considering the power
and wisdom and goodness of God as being, living, and understanding; purely
spiritual and incorruptible and immutable.

14. This consideration, however, is extended according to the sevenfold
condition of creatures, which is a sevenfold testimony to the divine power,
wisdom, and goodness, as one considers the origin, magnitude, multitude,
beauty, plenitude, operation, and order of all things. For the "origin" of
things, according to their creation, distinction, and beauty, in the work
of the six days indicates the divine power producing all things from
nothing, wisdom distinguishing all things clearly, and goodness adorning
all things generously. "Magnitude" of things, either according to the
measure of their length, width, and depth, or according to the excellence
of power spreading itself in length, breadth, and depth, as appears in the
diffusion of light, or again according to the efficacy of its inner,
continuous, and diffused operation, as appears in the operation of fire--
magnitude, I say, indicates manifestly the immensity of the power, wisdom,
and goodness of the triune God, Who exists unlimited in all things through
His power, presence, and essence. "Multitude" of things, according to the
diversity of genus, species, and individuality, in substance, form, or
figure, and efficacy beyond all human estimation, clearly indicates and
shows the immensity of the aforesaid traits in God. "Beauty" of things,
according to the variety of light, figure, and color in bodies simple and
mixed and even composite, as in the celestial bodies, minerals, stones and
metals, plants and animals, obviously proclaims the three mentioned traits.
"Plenitude" of things--according to which matter is full of forms because
of the seminal reasons; form is full of power because of its activity;
power is full of effects because of its efficiency--declares the same
manifestly. "Operation," multiplex inasmuch as it is natural, artificial,
and moral, by its very variety shows the immensity of that power, art, and
goodness which indeed are in all things the cause of their being, the
principle of their intelligibility, and the order of their living. "Order,"
by reason of duration, situation, and influence, as prior and posterior,
upper and lower, nobler and less noble, indicates clearly in the book of
creation the primacy, sublimity, and dignity of the First Principle in
relation to its infinite power. The order of the divine laws, precepts, and
judgments in the Book of Scripture indicates the immensity of His wisdom.
The order of the divine sacraments, rewards, and punishments in the body of
the Church indicates the immensity of His goodness. Hence order leads us
most obviously into the first and highest, most powerful, wisest, and best.

15. He, therefore, who is not illumined by such great splendor of created
things is blind; he who is not awakened by such great clamor is deaf; he
who does not praise God because of all these effects is dumb; he who does
not note the First Principle from such great signs is foolish. Open your
eyes therefore, prick up your spiritual ears, open your lips, and apply
your heart, that you may see your God in all creatures, may hear Him,
praise Him, love and adore Him, magnify and honor Him, lest the whole world
rise against you. For on this account the whole world will fight against
the unwise [Prov. 5:21]; but to the wise will there be matter for pride,
who with the Prophet can say, "Thou hast given me, O Lord, a delight in Thy
doings: and in the works of Thy hands I shall rejoice [Ps. 91:5]. . . .
How great are Thy works, O Lord; Thou hast made all things in wisdom; the
earth is filled with Thy riches" [Ps. 103:24].

2have translated the Latin "speculatio," which appears over and over
again in this work, in a variety of ways. St. Bonaventura plays upon its
various shades of meaning--reflection, speculation, consideration--for he
seems haunted by the basic metaphor of the universe's being a sort of
mirror (speculum) in which God is to be seen. The Italian and French
translators have the advantage of those of us who write English, for they
have merely to transliterate the Latin word. We have a similar difficulty
in the Latin word "vestigia," which I have translated traces. It will
hardly do to write vestiges or footprints, and traces is not much better.
St. Bonaventura simply means that by considering the work of art one will
know the artist. This handiwork shows traces of his workmanship. But we are
likely to think of traces as something which are left behind, whereas God
is not to be thought of as having created the world and then left it alone,
as Pascal said of Descartes' God.